The first of its training events took place last week (18 October) where international EO Accelerator trainer Mirik Castro delivered a strategy masterclass to 22 entrepreneurs from across Ireland.

‘This is collaboration at its very best and when people really engage in such a process, the benefits can be powerful’– GARY O’MEARA

This was complemented by the inaugural Scalable by Design Series where entrepreneurs and other enterprise champions from education and government discussed key strategic elements of building profitable companies.

Over the course of a day of training and evening events, more than 80 people immersed themselves in the lore of entrepreneurship.

EO is a global network for entrepreneurs that supports learning and personal growth through peer-to-peer learning, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and connection to experts. With more than 14,000 members across 65 countries, EO Ireland was established in 2013 and now has 50 members.

The accelerator is a successful EO programme that has more than 1,400 participants in 35 countries worldwide. The average number of employees in applicant companies is 3.3 and the average turnover is €450,000. Female participation is 29pc globally and the average age of all participants is 38 years.

Kells angels

Not-for-profit organisation Meath Enterprise is a local Government enterprise development body with a mission to drive regional and national enterprise development, including start-up and SME accelerators, investor networks, and scaling and incubation services.

One of these projects, the Boyne Valley Food Innovation District, aims to create a food cluster that will facilitate the scalable expansion of qualified food start-ups and SMEs into global market opportunities.

In May, the Kells Tech Hub was launched to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in the north-east of Ireland.

Gary O’Meara, CEO of Meath Enterprise, explained that EO Accelerator is a unique programme that encourages entrepreneurs to share experiences and knowledge in a structured way so that others can benefit from shared learning.

“This is collaboration at its very best and when people really engage in such a process, the benefits can be powerful. We are delighted to be partnering with EO Ireland to deliver EO Accelerator, and we look forward to further developing this relationship and building on the huge success of today’s training day and evening sessions, which were attended by over 80 people,” he added.

The next EO Accelerator training day, which will focus on people, will take place on 7 February in the Kells Tech Hub. In the meantime, accelerators will participate in monthly meetings with their accountability coaches (EO members) in regional hubs in Wexford, Limerick, Galway, Belfast, Dublin and Meath.

“This is a wonderful initiative and I would like to thank EO Ireland and their partners, Meath Enterprise, for all their hard work and commitment to supporting regional enterprises through the delivery of this world-class accelerator programme here in the Kells Tech Hub,” said Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Damien English, TD, who attended the event last week.